Madness, performing with Rick Astley, The Lightning Seeds and Deco at the Derby Summer Sessions at Markeaton Park Derby on Sunday 14th July 2024.
Review by Kevin Cooper
For the third night under the Big Top at Markeaton Park on Sunday, there was no shortage of sing along songs and dad dancing as Rick Astley and the iconic Madness entertained a crowd that clearly demanded a night of hits, and who were not disappointed.
First to get the crowd moving was fairly new band Deco who have been breaking their backs on the festival circuit ahead of the release of their debut album later this year. With their huge melodies soaring around the Big Top, their use of electronics blended well with their live instruments.
As they included some classic 80’s saxophone on the likes of opener I Love That Song and Next To You, and led by the charismatic front man Max Kendall, they clearly enjoyed ripping through their up tempo pop gems such as Forever and Photograph. After getting the crowd on side with a gorgeous cover of The Verve’s Bitter Sweet Symphony, they finished their set with Rain after ensuring that the name Deco is one to watch out for.
With the bars and food outlets doing a healthy business, the crowd were anxious to get their refreshments and to return to the Big Top to catch the set of popsters The Lightning Seeds who started their set with the euphoric Marvellous.
They meandered through some of their original classics such as Change and Sense, the stomp and glam-rock inflections of Lucky You and their well known cover of The Byrds You Showed Me.
They closed their set with the absolute knockout double punch of Pure and The Life Of Riley which saw Broudie and his band build up the intros, taking their time before finally launching into versions of the songs that seemed doubly powerful and impactful.
But there was only one song that this crowd were waiting to hear and when the opening keyboard chords to Three Lions chimed out, the crowd went wild, arms aloft and belting out the words with genuine optimism.
Still luxuriously sporting a quiff after all of these years, the former 80’s pop idol may play down his new found national treasure status acquired since his fabulous appearance at last year’s Glastonbury, where undoubtedly he stole the show, Rick Astley was given a huge Summer Session welcome.
Opening with Together Forever, everyone’s guilty pleasure from the 80’s, Astley prowled around the stage like a caged tiger. From the off he not only impressed with his singing on the likes of Hold Me In Your Arms and Angels On My Side, but also with his energy and incredible stage charisma. He actively engaged with the crowd and showcased his natural talent as a performer.
The soft rock gospel of Cry For Help still conveyed a soaring power and when he stepped behind the drums for a raucous cover of AC/DC’s Highway To Hell, he showed that he is definitely not a one trick pony. Finishing with the song that topped the charts in 25 countries back in 1987, Never Gonna Give You Up, Rick Astley had set the crowd up very nicely for the headliners with his too short set.
Camden Town’s Nutty Boys brought to a close three nights of excellent music and which saw the Big Top packed with fez wearing fans. With the opening of One Step Beyond the crowd instantly knew that they were in for a real treat.
Showing that they are about large sounds and big songs, front man Suggs delivered a live set that offered hit after hit such as Embarrassment and the British classic My Girl which had the crowd jumping and singing along in joyful exuberance. The Big Top was undoubtedly full of fun and Madness were as ever, fantastic live.
NW5 was emotionally impactful and excellently performed, as was the lesser known songs such as The Sun And The Rain and Hour Of Need. A further highlight was Wings Of A Dove before they reached a searingly strong end to their main set, a four song run that started with Baggy Trousers, House Of Fun, Our House and set closer It Must Be Love that had the crowd belting the words right back at them. For the encore there was the anthemic Madness and the ska infused frenzy of Night Boat To Cairo which served to show that a Madness gig is fun from the off proving that they are still as nutty live.